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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25566277">The Art of Deception</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fortuitous_Juxtapositions/pseuds/Fortuitous_Juxtapositions'>Fortuitous_Juxtapositions</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Great (TV 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 01:57:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>21,244</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25566277</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fortuitous_Juxtapositions/pseuds/Fortuitous_Juxtapositions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You and your uncle have just arrived in Peter III's court from the Colonies. You uncle has warned you of the debauchery of the court and devises a plan to keep you safe, but the Emperor has other ideas. You find yourself thrown to the wolves and you must keep your secret while while fighting the growing feelings you have for the one person in court you who you would tell the secrets of the universe to if he would only ask.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Count Orlo/Reader, Orlo (The Great TV 2020)/Reader, Orlo (The Great TV 2020)/You</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>77</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Anything written in italics denote the characters are speaking in English.</p><p>Thank you to @always-a-fairycat on Tumblr for proofreading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“It is a dangerous place, my dear,” your uncle warned as the carriage jostled you from side to side. After traveling so long you hardly noticed the movements any longer.</p><p>“If it is so dangerous, then why not leave me back in the Colonies?” you replied in disinterest as you watched the trees float by through the window.</p><p>“Because that is no place for a woman to be left on her own,” he sighed and mopped at his head with a silk kerchief. “It is… dangerous.”</p><p>“More dangerous than the Russian Court?” you asked with a smirk.</p><p>“Insolent child,” your uncle lamented in frustration. “At least with you here, I can watch over you for the short time we are in court.”</p><p>“So you teaching me to fight was just for, what? Killing the Emperor?” you joked.</p><p>“Shh!” he hissed, “do not say such things… In fact, do not say anything unless you have to!”</p><p>You tossed your head back with a frustrated whine.</p><p>“Shall I just pretend I do not speak Russian at all then?” you joked, shooting a look over to the elder man.</p><p>He groaned, but then a contemplative look fell over his features. His wrinkled hand came up and rubbed the salt and pepper stubble that adorned his chin.</p><p>“That’s not a bad idea…”</p><p>“You can’t be serious!” you snapped.</p><p>“My dear, a woman from the colonies is going to cause quite a stir at court. I expect the Emperor himself will find interest in you, and that you most certainly do not want. But, if he were unable to regale you with his innumerable and glorious attributes, he may lose interest.”</p><p>“But-”</p><p>“No buts!” He cut you off and you leveled a glare at him. “I have made my decision. We will speak no more on it.” He sat back, a satisfied smile adorning his features.</p><p>“Now listen-”</p><p>“Ah, ah, ah.” His hand came up to silence you.</p><p>“That’s not-”</p><p>“Ah, ah!”</p><p>You sat back and huffed, crossing your arms over your chest.</p><p>“You’re lucky that I love you, old man.” you harrumphed. He grinned knowingly at you and tapped the side of his nose, his bright blue eyes sparkling in the low light.</p><p>“English or French only, my dearest.”</p><p>“But my French is horrible.”</p><p>“Oui, all the better for us!”</p><p>……</p><p>When you finally arrived at the palace you had yet to sway your uncle’s decision but all arguments to the contrary had died in your throat once you had lain eyes upon the grandiose building that towered high above you and seemed to stretch on endlessly. You looked on, dumbfounded as your uncle chuckled at your awestruck expression.</p><p>“I could never have dreamed up such a place!” Your voice was breathy and low.</p><p>“Yes, it is a pretty cage.” You turned and were met with a stoic expression, one you had never seen adorn the elder’s face. “But inside it is filthy, covered in a layer of grime set there by the greed and corruption of those who are housed within its walls.”</p><p>The near hiss in his voice chilled you and you began to wonder if his overprotection of you was in fact, warranted. He glanced over at your concerned face and forced a smile to his own.</p><p>“But never mind that. We will only be here for a short while after all. It is just a formality that we meet with the Emperor and discuss our business in the Colonies. After that we will travel to the estate and spend the rest of our time in the godless country at the only little piece of Heaven that exists in this shit hole.”</p><p>“Very… uh… descriptive, Uncle.” You raised an eyebrow and he smirked, The carriage came to a halt and your uncle turned serious once more.</p><p>“I know you disagree with me, but please just don’t say anything in Russian. You will understand once you get in there, just please trust me.”</p><p>You took a deep breath and nodded to him.</p><p>“Of course, I trust you. I promise I will not say a word in Russian... for the time being” you relented and his shoulders relaxed slightly.</p><p>With a nod the door of the carriage was pulled open by a gloved servant who bowed in greeting to you uncle as he exited the cab. You swallowed thickly and took your uncle’s hand as he assisted you. Your feet hit the gray stone driveway and you stopped a beat to take in just how large the palace truly was.</p><p>“We finished preparing your apartments this morning, Count (Y/L/N),” the man said as he led you into the massive, ornate double doors. “The Emperor wishes to convey his disappointment that he was unable to greet you personally but would like you to attend him in the throne room once you have had a chance to settle in.”</p><p>Your uncle was unable to keep his derisive snort at bay as he quickly covered it up with a coughing fit.</p><p>“Excuse me, I’m not used to the dust,” he explained. “Please convey my gratitude to the Emperor.”</p><p>Your uncle continued to chat with the servant, but all lost on you as you stepped inside the palace. You had never seen such beauty and opulence before. The walls were trimmed in gold filigree, statues and vases lined every nook,  fragrant flowers were placed strategically throughout the halls perfuming the air, serfs and servants clambered through the halls disappearing nearly as quickly as they had appeared. Each hall was a different assault to the senses. It felt as if the very walls were alive, buzzing with the stories of those who lived and worked in this gargantuan edifice.The beauty of it took your  breathe away and you wanted to just stand aside and watch the life of the palace drive on.</p><p>The atmosphere changed, however, as you drew closer and closer to the apartments. Men and women lined the hall in various states of dress. Those who were clothed wore the finest silks in rich colors and patterns while those who weren’t still maintained their status by wearing ridiculously complex powdered wigs and ostentatious jewels. An overwhelming smell of alcohol and vomit assaulted your senses so violently that not even the prettiest and most fragrant of flowers could disguise it vile scent. Shouting accompanied by the sound of shattering glass nearly camouflaged the arguments, crying and moans of pleasure that reverberated from nearly every corner and nook. It was overwhelming to someone who had spent the majority of their life away from the crowds, knowing of only their family and those who worked for them as you had. Again your breath was taken from you, but for entirely different reasons. The stench stung your nostrils causing you to flinch as your eyes watered.</p><p>You scurried closer to your uncle and he wrapped a protective arm around you, pulling you to his side. He had no need to worry about you speaking Russian. He had no need to worry about you speaking at all. You were struck dumb by blatant and open debauchery that was transpiring around you.</p><p>After too long walking through the filthy halls the servant finally reached a set of doors and stopped in front of them. He pushed both doors open with a flourish and stood to one side, allowing you and your uncle to finally escape the madness that was contained withing the palace walls. With a snap, the doors were closed and all you could hear was a faint rumble of voices from beyond. You released a breath and turned, wide-eyed to your uncle.</p><p>“<em>I know, my dear</em>.” He spoke in English and patted your arm in reassurance.</p><p>“Your luggage arrived yesterday, Count (L/N).” The servant bowed and gestured to the doors that flanked both sides of the receiving room. “Komtesse (L/N)’s things have been unpacked and placed in the room to your right and yours have been unpacked and placed in the room to your left. A serf will be in shortly to assist you with anything else you may need. May I suggest that you and the Komtesse freshen up and make your way to the throne room?”</p><p>“Yes, yes. Thank you, Igor,” your uncle dismissed the man who left with a nod.</p><p>You removed your muddy travel cloak and took in the room before you. Unlike the rest of the palace that was covered in rich, dark wood that nearly choked out all light, the receiving room was coated in bright white paint that reflected the sunlight pouring from the open windows. The furniture was done in light blues and silvers which added to the open illusory feel of the space. You halted in your assessment as you noticed the familiar paintings of landscapes and flowers that lined the walls adding to the ethereal décor.</p><p>“I had a few of my favorites shipped over to help this space feel more alive.” He grinned at your astonished face. “And your paints are in your room. Perhaps you can find enough beauty in this iniquitous hell hole to inspire a new favorite.”</p><p>You smiled in gratitude and opened your mouth to speak when the door flew open and a petite maid who looked to be only slightly older than yourself slipped into the room.</p><p>“Beg your pardon, Count (L/N).” She slammed the door closed quickly before the world outside could come spilling forth and disturb the sanctuary within. She curtsied deeply to your uncle. “I was sent to help Komtesse (L/N) prepare for meeting the Emperor. Your valet will be in soon to assist you.”</p><p>“Yes, of course.” Your uncle nodded in greeting. “This is my niece, (Y/N).”</p><p>“Pleasure to meet you, Komtesse,” she curtsied to you “I am Vera, I will be your servant during your stay here.”</p><p>You looked at her silently, your face a mask of neutrality with only the barest hint of a confused smile.</p><p>“Oh, my niece does not speak Russian, I am afraid” Your uncle cut in. “She only speaks English and a slight bit of French.” He turned to face you. “<em>Well played my dear. Now, keep that up and we may just get out of here unscathed. Act as if I just relayed to you what Vera had said.</em>”</p><p>You smiled brightly and turned to Vera nodding your understanding. Vera hesitated before forcing a smile to her kind face and stepping towards you.</p><p>“Well, we’ll make do.” She took your hand. “Come. With. Me. Komtesse.”</p><p>Her words were spoken louder than necessary and much slower than required. You turned and gave your uncle a look, but he just motioned you to follow, a shit-eating grin plastered to his face.</p><p>……</p><p>After a quick wash with a cloth and bowl of clean water scented with lilac, Vera dressed you in a simple blue gown (“That. Is. Not. Nice. Enough. To. Wear. To. Meet. The. Emperor.”) and styled your own natural hair as best as she could (“You. Should. Wear. The. Powdered. Wig. It. Is. What. The. Other. Ladies. Will. Be. Wearing.”). She added the final touch, a silver ornate comb with blood red jewels that your father had presented to your mother when he had asked for her hand in marriage (Well, that’s a pretty trinket.”). You nodded in approval and smiled up at Vera.</p><p>“It’ll have to do,” she sighed in frustration but smiled back at you nonetheless.</p><p>You stood from the vanity and made your way out of the room, Vera following along behind. Your uncle stood freshened up and dressed in a fine suit of deep maroon with golden embellishments embroidered throughout. Vera stepped from behind you as your uncle looked you over.</p><p>“I’m sorry, Count (L/N). She wouldn’t let me put her in anything nicer!” she huffed,</p><p>“That sounds about right,” your uncle chuckled and nodded to the frazzled maid. “She looks beautiful either way, thank you Vera.”</p><p>“<em>Shall we?</em>” he held his arm up to you. “<em>Be sure to pay attention to our path out of these apartments, you will need to know how to safely find your way back</em>.” You nodded as you took the offered arm. With one last tight smile, your uncle led you through the door and out into the madness.</p><p>……</p><p>“<em>Are all Emperors this rude?</em>” you huffed. You had been standing in the throne room for nearly an hour, waiting for the Emperor to arrive.</p><p>“<em>Regardless of if they are or not, it is well within their right to be</em>.” He shrugged. “<em>He answers to no one but God, so who is to tell him otherwise</em>?”</p><p>You rolled your eyes before sweeping them over the portraits that hung in the room for what felt like the hundredth time. Their scowling faces silently passing judgment of you with dead oil paint eyes making you wonder if the artists were unable to capture emotion in their paintings or if the subjects were just unable to fake any to capture. Unease crept over you as they continued their soundless assessment of you and surely found you wanting, a wild thing like you dirtying their halls with your very presence. You tore your gaze from a particularly judgy portrait of a man with hair that stood up in all directions and instead stepped behind your uncle too looked to the serfs who stood on either side of a large ornate trunk. Your uncle had brought it over from New York stuffed near to bursting with goods from the Colonies. Neither serf acknowledged your existence but instead stood tall and quiet, their eyes dull and sightless and not unlike the eyes that gazed back at you from the portraits.</p><p>You wondered at the life they must lead here, forced to clean the mess the court left for them in the halls with no pay and not a word of thanks. Back in the Colonies, your uncle made sure his own staffers were always well paid for what work they did, but he had warned you that there were very few actual paid workers in the palace and that all duties were carried out almost entirely by serfs. Your uncle was a progressive and ardent admirer of Voltaire, he long ago abandoned the idea of serfdom, instead freeing those in his debt and offering them pay for their work, even going so far as to offering to teach them how to read and write. Being treated as actual humans rather than possessions had inspired happiness, love and loyalty to your uncle over the years, a sentiment that spilled over to you when you came to live with your uncle at a young age.</p><p>The sound of doors being thrown open without regard startled you from your musings and you glanced around your uncle to see a young man with brilliant blue eyes that were complimented with the brown of the ornate leather coat that covered his green shirt and black cloth breeches. His gait suggested an air of pompousness and importance as he swaggered into the throne room, followed closely by a crowd of men who seemed to be agreeing as one with something the young man had said prior to stepping into the room. Satisfied, he turned and caught sight of your uncle who bowed deeply.</p><p>“My Emperor.” His low voice rumbled.</p><p>“Emperor, Count (L/N) is here to-”</p><p>“Dimitri, you old fuck! When did you get back from the colonies?” The Emperor cut off the man, who attempted to announce your uncle, as if he had never spoken at all.</p><p>“Arrived just this morning, Emperor.” your uncle replied.</p><p>“Did you bring me anything?”</p><p>“Yes, Emperor,” your uncle motioned for the serfs to bring the trunk forward. They did so without hesitation and dropped it in front of the Emperor.</p><p>“The finest furs and tobacco from the new world,” he revealed as the trunk lid was tossed open. The Emperor raised his brow and motioned for the serfs to bring the first item to him. It was a coat made of the softest beaver fur and lined with golden silk. “That will repel any water so you may wear it even in the rain, your highness.”</p><p>“Fucking brilliant!” The Emperor exclaimed, tossing the priceless material over his shoulder. It caught on the edge of a stack of papers that a man beside the Emperor held and sent them scattering to the ground.  The Emperor sighed in annoyance. “Orlo, you useless cunt.”</p><p>The man stuttered an apology and bent down to pick up the papers. Without warning the Emperor used his boot to shove the man over, his face met the floor and knocked his eyeglasses askew. The Emperor roared with laughter and the group followed suit as the man painfully pushed himself up to his knees.</p><p>Shock and horror filled your heart and without a thought your body began to move of its own accord. You stepped around your uncle where you had been mostly hidden from the crowd and, in only a few hurried steps, you knelt down in front of the man to start gathering the scattered papers from the floor as he regained his composure. His head lifted and you were able to get a good look at his face for the first time. His dark eyes met yours and you saw a profound sadness behind them before it was coated over in shock. His dark skinned drew tight around his jaw, his full lips sputtered and his thick black eyebrows pulled together, rising up towards his coiffed hair.</p><p>You silently held the papers out to the man, but it was as if he were blind to your actions. His mouth hung slightly opened and he gazed at you with an unreadable expression. You returned his expression with a gentle smile and gestured to the papers in your hand. He started and blinked a few times as if he was finally able to shake off his bewilderment at anyone coming to his aide.</p><p>“Oh... yes.” He gently took the papers from your hand, his fingertips brushing lightly against your own, leaving a ghostly feeling in their wake. “Th-thank you.”</p><p>“Christ, Orlo! Did you just cum in your pants?” the Emperor exclaimed before turning to the group men behind him. “Did you hear? I asked if he just came in his pants!”</p><p>The men laughed and Orlo’s face turned red in embarrassment as he stood up and clutched the papers to his chest protectively. You stood too, ignoring the laughter that surrounded you as Orlo’s head dropped in shame.</p><p>“You, didn’t you hear me?” the Emperor demanded as you turned to him, your face screwed up in a look of confusion. The Emperor looked you over, eyes stopping briefly over your chest before giving you an approving nod. “I don’t think we have met.”</p><p>Your uncle’s hand grabbed your arm and tugged you back to his side.</p><p>“My niece, (Y/N), Emperor,” he introduced, jaw clenched.</p><p>The Emperor hummed in appreciation as you curtsied to him, the act giving him a birds-eye view of your cleavage. You fought to contain the shiver of disgust his unwanted gaze generated in you. He smiled haughtily and moved to step closer you as your body clenched.</p><p>“Emperor,” a voice called and all eyes turned towards the dark-haired man, Orlo. “Forgive the interruption but the Empress is expecting you for…”</p><p>“Fuck! Yes, yes. Shut up you lobcock,” He turned back towards your uncle. “We will speak more at dinner.”</p><p>With one final glance your way he swept out of the room, once again trailed by the group of men. The dark haired man was the last to leave, he opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but thought better of it and quickly stepped through the door. The hush that fell over the room after the departure of Peter and his men was near deafening. Neither you nor your uncle moved for several moments as you each ran the events over in your mind.</p><p>You were the first to break the silence.</p><p>“Well... fuck.”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Dimitri, you old bastard!” A man dressed in military finery boomed as he slapped your uncle roughly on the shoulder. “Where the fuck have you been hiding?”</p><p>“Velementov, who are you calling old you ancient fuck?” Your uncle laughed good naturedly and the man shrugged.</p><p>“Takes one to know one.”</p><p>“How goes the war with Sweden?”</p><p>Velementov’s shoulders sagged as if the weight of the world was laid upon them and, in his eyes, a faraway look as if his mind lay somewhere else entirely. He finally shrugged and tossed his glass of vodka back in one go, his body swaying in a way that told you he had started drinking long before you arrived.</p><p>“Ah, that well my friend?” You uncle looked on sympathetically. The other man made a ‘what can you do’ gesture and gave a humorless laugh.</p><p>“Russia’s sends her boys to war so that they may die men.” The tone in Velementov’s voice was one that made you believe he was convincing himself more than anything. He exhaled and his eyes flittered over to you. “But enough about war, we are in the presence of a lady, and they do not wish to hear of such things!”</p><p>His hand came out in greeting and you curtsied as you took it.</p><p>“General Velementov, commander of the Russian army. And you are?” He raised your hand to his lips and placed a chased kiss on your knuckles.</p><p>“My niece, (y/n).” Your uncle broke in. “She does not speak Russian, I am afraid.”</p><p>Velementov balked.</p><p>“Does not speak Russian? What are you teaching her over there in that wild new world?”</p><p>“It is just not practical. Near to no one speaks our mother tongue over there. They all speak either English or French. Though there are quite a few different tribal languages of the natives who live there. Fascinating people whom her father often traded with.”</p><p>“God rest his soul,” Velementov lamented as he grabbed another glass of vodka and downed it like water. He smiled at you kindly before his attention was drawn away from you and towards the doors that had just been flung open. In stepped the Emperor dressed in the finest golden silks, accompanying him was a woman who was slender in statue and dressed in clothes that rivaled all other women in attendance.</p><p>“The Empress,” Velementov’s voice was reverent as he gazed at her through glassy, drunk eyes. The Emperor and his bride made their way to the head of the tables as all in attendance bowed and curtsied to them. When they reached their table, they turned to look at you and your uncle, both standing in the center as is customary when joining the court, waiting for the Emperor to welcome you.</p><p>“Velementov, you fat cunt, fuck off back to your seat!” The Emperor yelled and you noticed for the first time that the General was still stood next to your uncle. His mouth stumbled over an apology that had the Emperor rolling his eyes before stepping around your uncle. You watched the man go in concern for his wellbeing as he drunkenly tripped over his own feet. He fell forward slamming his hip into the corner of the table and you hissed in sympathy. The Emperor roared with laughter and continued to belittle him while the rest of the court joined in.</p><p>Your uncle growled and reached for you when you dropped your death grip on him and made you way over to the man who stood doubled over in pain. You grabbed his arm and help him straighten himself up.</p><p>Before you could maneuver him around the table another pair of hands gripped his opposite shoulder. You looked up to find the man from earlier, Orlo, looking at you before quickly shooting his eyes over to the General.</p><p>“For fuck sake, Orlo. Get him to his seat before I rip his and your cock off with my fucking fork.” The Emperor yelled, silencing all in the hall.</p><p>“I’ve got him,” Orlo whispered to you, gesturing with his head for you to return to your uncle whose hand gently wrapped around your bicep.</p><p>“<em>Let him go,”</em> he hissed into your ear and you obeyed as your uncle pulled you back to the center of the room. You watched Orlo quickly and efficiently guide Velementov to his chair without further incident and you knew that it was not the first time such a thing had occurred.</p><p>When you looked back to the head of the table you noticed four blue eyes regarding you curiously and the grip your uncle had on you tightened.</p><p>“Right, I’m fucking starving. Let’s get this over with,” the Emperor gestured to you and your uncle. “Count (L/N) has returned for the Colonies with his niece…” He looked around at all members of the court who were in attendance. “Well, fuck me that was fast. Sit down and lets eat this fucking pig.”</p><p>Your uncle escorted you to your seat before taking his own. As soon as the Emperor tore into the suckling pig the court followed suite. You sat back, horror struck as you watched them feast like starved wolves on the array of food, enough to feed a small army. You wrinkled your nose as you half expected to start hearing snorts and grunts coming from the men and women around you. A quick glance over to your uncle saw a similar expression on his own face. You picked at the potatoes that sat cooling on your plate, all traces of hunger gone and a heavy feeling of exhaust settled of you.</p><p>“You’re a pretty little thing,” you raised your head up to see a woman with large hair and a wildness about her standing in front of you. “You have such pretty, soft hair.”</p><p>She tugged a strand free and gently twisted it around her finger. She sent you a kindly smile, but there was something vicious that lurked just beyond.</p><p>“Lady Elizabeth,” your uncle greeted. “You look more and more radiant each time I see you.”</p><p>“This is your niece, is it?” she grinned again. “Not very talkative.”</p><p>“No, she does not speak Russian, so it is difficult for her to communicate.” He patted your shoulder in affection, but you could feel the warning coming from his touch.</p><p>“No? Pity. She is very pretty. I am sure that she will have many of the man in court tripping over themselves to get to her…” her grin turned sly. “And many of the women as well.”</p><p>“Yes, well” your uncle cleared his throat uncomfortably. “We do not intend on staying here more than a few days. Business at the estate and all.”</p><p>“Yes, I heard about the death of your cousin. A shame… he was quite a glorious lover.”</p><p>You were glad you had not yet brought the glass of water in your hand to your lips, for certain you would have choked on it and revealed your secret. Instead you cast your eyes around the room in hope that the strange woman would soon leave you and find someone else who could entertain her. You raised the glass to your lips and took a sip, the cold water doing little to chase away the drowsiness as the day’s traveling and events started to catch up with you.</p><p>Your eyes wondered to Valementov, seeing him sway in his chair as if he were aboard a ship. He loudly exclaimed something before slamming his fist into the table. The sound made the man to his left jump and your sight narrowed in on him. Orlo leaned into the general, his lips moved quickly as if he were scolding the man and you fought to contain a smile. Orlo finished his oration and his eyes immediately glanced up and locked with your own. You did smile at the man but he quickly jerked his head to the left, his eyes fixed on something of interest on the ceiling. You frowned and raised an eyebrow but turned back to the conversation between your uncle and the strange woman. Her eyes locked with you and in contrast to Orlo, she held your gaze with confidence.</p><p>“<em>Elizabeth is Peter’s aunt.” </em>You uncle clarified for you.</p><p>“<em>Ah,”</em> you smiled at the woman “<em>it is a pleasure to meet you, Elizabeth.”</em></p><p>Your uncle started to translate what you said but Elizabeth cut him off and exclaimed loudly,</p><p>“What a lovely language!” You could feel the eyes of the court turn towards you as a hush fell over the room. “I do love the way my name sounds on your tongue.”</p><p>Guffaws were heard from many a table and you looked to your uncle, a silent plea for comfort in your eyes as your face conveyed confusion to the court.</p><p>“I say, Aunt Elizabeth!” Peter exclaimed from his table, standing up so that all eyes turned to him. “What is this about her lovely tongue?”</p><p>You fought a blush and instead took another drink of the cold water to help calm the raising heat while clutching your uncle’s hand under the table.</p><p>“The way it caresses my name, nephew!” She exclaimed, her eyes finally turning from your face to speak directly to her nephew.</p><p>The Emperor stood up and grabbed his glass of vodka before making his way over to you. You gulped nervously and looked around the room once more. This time all eyes were on you, glittering with humor, desire and jealousy. As you cast your eyes about the room, they once more locked with Orlo. He did not look away this time, enraptured by the sight before him. But unlike the rest of court, his eyes darkened as a nervous energy seemed to pulse from them.</p><p>Peter stepped in front of you, blocking your gaze from Orlo and everyone else in the dinning hall. You looked up as his tall frame towered over you.</p><p>“Say my name.” He commanded. You scrunched your face into a mask of confusion. “I SAID, SAY MY NAME!” He slammed his hand on the table and you jumped.</p><p>“S-sir, please,” A voice pleaded to his left at the same time your uncle started to apologize.</p><p>Orlo stood next to the Emperor, his body twisting such as to try and bring the Emperor’s focus to him, but his icy blue eyes remained trained on you.</p><p>“She does not speak Russian” Orlo reminded as your uncle clutched your hand tighter. The Emperor sniffed in angered amusement and turned to your uncle.</p><p>“Tell her to say my name,” he commanded.</p><p>“<em>It’s okay, dearest. Just do as he says.</em>” The was a slight quiver in your uncle’s voice. You nodded and your eyes focused on the table.</p><p>“<em>Emperor Peter” </em>you said quietly.</p><p>A hand gripped your chin painfully and brutally jerked your head upward. You met the cruel eyes of the Emperor as silence filled the room. No one dared to speak let alone breathe in fear his wrath my be directed towards them.</p><p>“Say. It. Again.” He commanded. Your uncle translated in English.</p><p>“<em>Emperor Peter.”</em></p><p>“Again!”</p><p>“<em>Emperor Peter</em>.” His grip on your chin tightened and you knew it would be bruised come the morning.</p><p>“Tell her to say it louder.” He growled. Your uncle translated.</p><p>
  <em>“Emperor Peter.”</em>
</p><p>“Louder!” he shook your head.</p><p>“<em>Emperor Peter!”</em></p><p>“LOUDER!” He brought his face closer to yours and yelled.</p><p>“<em>EMPEROR PETER!”</em> You near sobbed as you yelled it at him. He grinned maliciously, finally satisfied with your obedience.</p><p>“You’re right, Aunt. Her lovely tongue does caress my name.” He shoved your face away and you could not help the small squeal of pain that escaped from you throat. His grin grew more satisfied at the noise and he straightened himself to his full height. “But her inability to speak Russian will not do.”</p><p>He thought for a moment, fingers caressing his chin. You could physically see the change when the idea came to his head, his eyebrows raising in delight.</p><p>“Orlo, you virgin cuck, where are you!” He yelled and twisted to look over his shoulder to where the man usually sat.</p><p>“R-right here, Emperor,” Orlo instead answered from his left where he had remained.</p><p>“Jesus fuck, do I need to put a fucking bell on you?” He glared down at the man.</p><p>“I’m so-“</p><p>“Never fucking mind,” he cut Orlo off. “I have a job for you.”</p><p>“Sir?” Orlo gulped.</p><p>“You’re going to teach this bitch how to speak Russian.” Out of the corner of your eye you could see your uncle’s jaw clench, his eyes alight with fire yet he remained still and quiet.</p><p>“I-” Orlo started to protest but it was cut off as the Emperor grabbed a knife from the table and brandished it towards the man. He held up his hands in surrender and eyed the weapon. “I-I would be ha-happy to.”</p><p>“Good,” the Emperor stabbed the knife down into the table in front of you and you jumped. He smirked triumphantly and downed his vodka before turning to the rest of the hall.</p><p>“Huzzah!” He threw the glass against the wall behind you and you flinched as you felt shards hitting your head and the back of your neck. The rest of the hall followed suit, drinking their Vodka and throwing the glass to the floor before echoing the Emperor.</p><p>“HUZZAH!”</p><p>The Emperor smirked at you once more before making his way back to his seat, smiling at the Empress ashe did so. You took a deep, shakey breath and looked up to find Orlo still standing in the same spot, dark eyes staring down at you. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came.</p><p>“Orlo, you fucking virgin! Do not try and guilt her into letting you stick your limp cock inside her!” The hall erupted in laughter and Orlo’s cheeks turned a bright crimson. Without a word, he turned on his heel and quickly scurried back to his chair. You could feel his eyes on you after he sat down, but you were too numb to do anything about it.</p><p>Elizabeth walked back over and stood in front of you. Your eyes remained fixed and staring, not really seeing anything but inwardly focusing on your breathing.</p><p>“He has a temper, my nephew.” She said as she gently touched one of the bright red marks on your chin. You flinched away and finally focused on her face. She smiled at you as if the past few minutes had never happened.</p><p>“Just think about how great life here will be once you learn Russian.” Her eyes were wide. “And I think Peter has taken a liking to you,” her smile faltered at her own words.</p><p>She gently brushed away the glass from your hair and forced another smile to her face. Her fingers traced the piece of hair she had freed earlier and then brushed down your cheek before she turned and glided over to the Empress.</p><p>You stayed silent and still as the band was brought into the hall. After a quick warm up they started to play, and the court yelled in rapture. Multitudes of colors swam in your vison as men and women jumped from the seats and took to dancing around the hall.</p><p>You finally brought yourself back to the present and felt the soft brush of your uncle’s thumb across your joined hands. You slowly released his hand, your joints stiff and aching from the pressure of holding so tightly to him.</p><p>“<em>Sorry</em>” you mumbled as you saw the how pale his hand had gone from constricted blood flow and the small crescents where your nails had dug into his skin.</p><p>“<em>No need for apologies, my dearest.</em>” He kissed the crown of your head. “<em>I will not ask you if you are alright, I know you are not.</em>”</p><p>You fought back a sob and it got stuck in your throat.</p><p>“<em>I think I will retire for the night,</em>” you croaked and took a drink of water.</p><p>“<em>Yes, I think that is a good idea.</em>” He looked up to where the Emperor had a woman who was not the Empress on his lap. “<em>I unfortunately must stay... Will you be okay to find your way back?</em>”</p><p>The worry was evident on his face and you knew he wanted nothing more escort you back to the apartments, but he could not yet leave the event as he was required to speak with the Emperor.</p><p>“<em>I know the way back; I will be alright.</em>” You looked up to the Emperor, <em>“the scariest thing in this palace is otherwise occupied at the moment.”</em></p><p><em>“There are other monsters that lurk in the dark crevasses of this place,</em>”</p><p><em>“I will be alright; I will go directly from here to the apartments. I promise.</em>” He looked troubled but agreed. You kissed him on the cheek and quietly stood from you chair, no one seemed to notice as you weaved your way through the crowd.</p><p>You stepped out of the hall and immediately felt the chill air fill your lungs. The room had been suffocatingly warm and smelled strongly of the combination of food and they scented oils the members of court wore. Now out in the hall you felt like you could properly breath for the first time all night. You nodded to the silent guards who stood watch outside the doors and made your way down the corridor.</p><p>The music and shouting started to fade as you made your towards the apartments. Soon it was ghostly quiet and all you could hear was the clacking of your shoes and the sound of you heart beating in your ears. It took everything in your power not to take off your shoes and sprint as fast as you could to the relative safety of your room.</p><p>You were so focused on telling your body not to bolt that you did not hear the sound of rushing footsteps until it was too late to run.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>By the time you heard them, the footsteps were right behind you. You turned sharply and held a scream in your throat.</p><p>“I’m sorry! I-I did not mean to startle you,” the soothing voice of Orlo stuttered out and you relaxed slightly, trying to even out your breathing,</p><p>You glanced warily at him, still on guard as you did not truly know him but willing to give him a chance since he had risked the Emperor’s wrath by coming to your aid.</p><p>“I know you do not speak Russian and I do not speak English,” he stepped closer to you and you involuntarily flinched back. He stopped and held his hands, palms up, to show you he meant no harm. “I won’t hurt you.”</p><p>You took a deep breath, calming your racing heart and relaxing your tensed muscles. He took that as a good sign and held his arm out to you.</p><p>“May I escort you to your apartments?” he asked. You looked him over, not sure if you fully trusted him to take you back to your rooms. He dropped his arm. “You do not have to take it, but I would still like to make sure you make is safely to your rooms.”</p><p>There was a sincerity to his voice that you had not heard since you stepped into the palace walls. He motioned towards the apartments and stepped beside you, leaving enough space between you so that you did not feel threatened by his presence. You said nothing but started walking, him keeping in step with you while maintaining the distance between his body and yours. You felt yourself start to relax slightly as you walked side by side in silence.</p><p>Once you made it to your apartment doors you turned to the dark-haired man, noticing he had stopped a few feet back. You looked him over as he stood, hands purposely placed where you could see them.</p><p>“<em>Thank you,</em>” you finally spoke and he nearly jumped at the break in the silence.</p><p>“I-uh. I am not sure what you said, but maybe you were thanking me?” He began to babel. “B-but I should be th-thanking you. For what you did for me earlier today.”</p><p>He rubbed the back of his neck.</p><p>“I don’t know why I am talking to you; you have no idea what I’m saying,” he chuckled a little. “I am very thankful for that, at least,” he shrugged a little. “At least you do not understand the insults the Emperor throws at me. The terrible names he calls me. I am thankful for that.”</p><p>Your heart broke at his words and you felt a sense of shame. What he was saying seemed so desperately private and the only reason he spoke those words was because he did not believe you could understand what he was saying. It felt like you were reading his personal diary, privy to his most intimate thoughts.</p><p>He opened his mouth to speak more but you quickly stepped closer to him, holding your hand out. Startled, he took it without thinking and held it in his own.</p><p>“Your hand is cold,” he mumbled and reached for your other hand. He brought them together and held them softly between his own, absentmindedly rubbing them in effort to bring warmth to your cold appendages. He brought your clasped hands up to his mouth and you watched, frozen in place, as he breathed into them, warming them with his breath.</p><p>He looked at your wide eyes and suddenly realized exactly what he was doing. He froze and immediately dropped your hands as if they were on fire.</p><p>“I-I-I am s-so-so-so s-sorry!” he stuttered and step back. “I-uh-I d-don’t know what I w-was thinking… I wa-wasn’t thinking.”</p><p>His eyes looked anywhere but at you, his cheeks and neck blushed crimson. He cleared his throat and with a slightly higher than normal voice, bid you goodnight before bolting down the hall.</p><p>You blinked a couple of times, your brain trying to process all that had happened. Unable to make sense of the evening you turned and methodically opened the door to your apartments. Vera jumped up from where she sat on the sofa and quickly walked over to you.</p><p>“Back early,” she muttered. “How. Did. It. Go.”</p><p>You stared blankly at her before silently turning and walking into your room.</p><hr/><p>You exited your room in your robe the following morning, stomping more than necessary. The night had been spent tossing and turning and you looked quite a mess. You trudged over to the table and poured a glass of juice as Vera poured you your tea. You nodded in thanks to her as you grabbed a breakfast roll and started ripping off pieces of it, shoving them in your mouth without thinking.</p><p>The door to your uncle’s room swung open and he stomped over to the table, looking every bit as worse for wear as you did. Vera poured him his own tea and he grunted out a thanks. The woman’s eyes glanced back and forth between you and your uncle, her hands on her hips.</p><p>“You most certainly are related.” She mumbled under her breath. “Good night all around, then?”</p><p>Your uncle glared at her and it took everything in your being not to do the same. She sighed and excused herself to finish preparing a bath.</p><p>“<em>Are you well, my dear?”</em> your uncle caught your gaze and nodded.</p><p>“<em>As well as you, uncle.”</em></p><p><em>”Ah, so you have been better.” </em>You grinned over at him, he returned the gesture before turning serious. “<em>Your first meetings with the Emperor did not go well.”</em></p><p><em>“Understatement.”</em> You snorted, touching your chin with a wince. He nodded and you could see the concern in his eyes. You waved him away. “<em>So, what can you tell me about Orlo?”</em> you dug an apple from the large pile of fruit in the center of the table. Munching on it you continued, “<em>He’s to be ma ‘utor in ruthan.”</em></p><p>You’re uncle rolled his eyes at your uncouth manner, but said nothing. He had raised you as best he could after your parent’s death, but you had been young when you came to him. It was not unexpected that you would have manners that were less than perfectly lady like.</p><p>“<em>He is a bureaucrat.” </em>Your uncle snorted. “<em>That says enough.”</em></p><p><em>“’at’s ‘ue.” </em>You swallowed.<em> “But… I cannot help but think there may be more to him.”</em></p><p><em>“Really?”</em> Your uncle raised a skeptical brow.</p><p>“<em>He did jump to my defense last night while all others just stared.”</em> You worried you lip as you relieved the previous night with a shudder, your uncle nodded in agreement. <em>“He also escorted me back to the apartments.”</em></p><p>Your uncle choked on the tea he had tried to swallow. He coughed and spluttered as he cleared his throat.</p><p>“<em>He did what!”</em></p><p><em>“Escorted me?”</em> you were surprised at his reaction. <em>“Is that an issue?”</em></p><p>
  <em>“He didn’t do anything… untoward, did he?”</em>
</p><p><em>“No.”</em> Part of you felt the need to defend the man even if you barely knew him. “<em>He seemed like a perfectly amiable gentleman.” </em></p><p><em>“I knew of him prior, when he was council for Peter the Great.” </em>He ran his hand down his beard in thought. “<em>He was quiet, but brilliant. No one said much in regard to him, though the Emperor did praise him on occasion.”</em></p><p>Your uncle had been close the previous Emperor, close enough to consider him a friend. He was a brilliant general in what he called his “previous life” and had won many a battle in the name of Peter the Great. The old Emperor had requested he be his military advisor, but your uncle had grown tired of war and instead left for the Colonies to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, your father.</p><p>
  <em>“I have, however, heard many a whisper of him since our arrival, in addition to the words of the Emperor. Now, I am never one to participate in idle gossip, but if everyone is speaking of him in such ways…”</em>
</p><p>You waited for your uncle to give examples of what he had heard, but he let it linger, something he knew annoyed you to no end.</p><p><em>“Do I have to ask.” </em>You deadpanned and he smirked.</p><p>
  <em>“Usually.’</em>
</p><p><em>“Ass.”</em> You rolled your eyes and he acted as if he had not heard you. “<em>What are they saying?”</em></p><p>
  <em>“Besides his status as a virgin?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I already heard that, and I wouldn’t have thought that your were against such a thing.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Oh, I am not. Unlike the Emperor, I have no problem with a man or woman who wishes not to engage in such activities. No. But I have also heard whispers that he and the Empress are involved with each other.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Oh.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I also heard whispers that he may have tried to… force himself on her when she first arrived.”</em>
</p><p>You blanched at that.</p><p><em>“But why would they be involved with each other if he did <strong>that?</strong>” </em>Your uncle shugged.</p><p>
  <em>“Regardless of if he did or didn’t, if they are involved with each other you should keep your distance. She is someone who you definitely do not want as an enemy. The previous Empress was known for… disappearing those who found themselves on her bad side.”</em>
</p><p><em>“Ah,” </em>You cringed. “<em>Point taken.”</em></p><p>You glanced around the room as the information settled in.</p><p><em>“Well, at least our time here is drawing to a close”</em> You pointed out in relief.</p><p>“<em>Here, here!”</em> you laughed as your uncle lifted his cup of tea.</p><p>“Huzzah!” You mocked, both of you giggling as you sipped your beverages.</p><hr/><p>You near moaned as you slipped into the warm rose scented water having left your uncle to his breakfast when Vera had finished preparing your bath. It had felt like forever since you last properly bathed, usually only able to wash with some cold water and a cloth since you left the colonies. By the time you were cleaned and scrubbed you felt as if you were a whole new person, ready to take on whatever was thrown at you.</p><p>Vera dressed you in a plain day dress of your choosing, grumbling about how dull it was going to look in comparison to the rest of the court, and left the room in a huff as you insisted on doing your own hair. You sat in front of the small vanity in your room, brushing and plaiting your hair before tying it off with a blue bow. You dug through your luggage until you came upon what you were looking for with a cry of triumph, pulling your portable paint kit from where it had been carefully packed away so the small glass jars would not break.</p><p>You stepped out of your room with case in hand and stopped dead in your tracks as your eyes took in Vera’s movements. You rushed over to stop her from tossing the immense amount of uneaten food into a sack that was destined for the trash.</p><p>“What’s gotten into you!” she cried as you grabbed her hand to keep her from tossing the untouched bacon. You sighed in frustration and grabbed the sack from her, setting it down and guiding her into one of the large chairs. She looked confused as you served her a plate from the remaining food, setting it down in front of her.</p><p>Your uncle never let any food go to waste back in the colonies. The servants always ate the same food as you, usually simple and fortifying foods that kept everyone going throughout the day and any leftovers were kept warm on the stove, available for any hungry passerby who happened to stop in. The  sheer amount and variety of food that the palace served was beyond ridiculous to you and seeing the excess being thrown out both annoyed and shocked you.</p><p>Vera hesitated as you sat next to her, motioning for her to eat. She took a small bite of eggs and her eyes closed, moaning in pure bliss. You smiled as she satiated her hunger, going back for seconds and even thirds of some items. When she was finished, she sat back and pressed a hand to he stomach, closing her eyes in content. You stood up and grabbed a tray from a side table and began stacking the rest of the food onto it. You set it down in front of her.</p><p>“I can’t eat all that!” her eyes widened. You gestured again to the food and then gestured below you, to the servants’ quarters. Here eyes widened in understanding before her face fell in confusion.</p><p>“Are. You. Sure?” You blinked at her and then gestured to the servants’ quarters again. She smiled widely and stood up to bow deeply to you. “Thank you so much!”</p><p>You grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up, squeezing them tightly and smiling at her before giving her a friendly kiss on the cheek. Her eyes pooled with repressed tears and she quickly turned from you so you could not see. She nodded in thanks and as she gathered up the used dishes with a sniffle.</p><p>You patted her shoulder before gathering your kit and setting off to the gardens in search of some reprieve from the grime of Peter’s court.</p><hr/><p>You grumbled wordlessly as searched through the small vials of paint, frustrated that you could not find the correct mix of paints to truly capture the sight before you. After a short trek, and many stares and whispers from the Lords and Ladies of court, you had found your way outside of the palace to the garden. You had discovered a corner far from the palace underneath a tree where no one seemed to bother you and set up your canvas to paint the field of golden flowers in the distance. You were so engrossed in what you were doing that you did not realize you were no longer alone until a startled gasp reached your ears. You snapped your head around at the sound and looked up at the person who tripped into your hiding spot.</p><p>“I-I am sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Orlo’s voice whispered as he clutched a book tightly to his chest. You had to keep yourself from laughing, noting the only one who was startled was the Count himself. “I, uh… I did not know anyone else knew of this spot.”</p><p>He was quiet for a moment before he gestured to his book.</p><p>“I usually sit here and read… No one usually…” He sighed and ran a hand over his forehead. “She doesn’t speak Russian, you dickhead.” He scolded himself and walked away.</p><p>You jumped from where you sat on the grass and rushed over to him, grabbing his arm to stop him. He flinched slightly at the contact but turned to face you. You smiled brightly at him and drug him back over to the shade of the tree. You sat back down and motioned to the spot next to you. He stared wide-eyed at you and slowly sat down. Satisfied, you continued to work on your landscape, finally mixing the correct colors for the golden accents.</p><p>You sat back after a while and studied what you had completed so far, wooden end of the brush resting on your lips as you contemplated what to do next. You sighed and glanced back over to the Count.</p><p>His eyes were still staring at you and you had a feeling that they had been the whole time. You snorted a quick laugh and set the brush down before grabbing at the book he held loosely in his hands and gently pushed it into his chest. He seemed to snap out of his trance, looking down to the book as if it were the most interesting thing in the world while a blush colored his cheeks. After a moment you tapped the book and he cleared his throat.</p><p>“Oh… r-right,” he breathed deeply and cracked it open. Appeased, you turned back to your painting. “I wonder if,” you heard him whisper to himself before his resonating voice began to read his book aloud.</p><p>You turned, surprised, and watched him as he read aloud from the philosophy book. You pulled your knees to your chest and rested your head on them as you became engrossed in the passion with which he read. It was as if the world around him had melted away and all that existed were the words on the page. You could see the emotions it evoked pass over his face and, though you were never much for philosophy, you listed in rapt attention.</p><p>Eventually you turned back to the canvas and began painting, a whole new emotion showing itself in the way the colors swirled together as his words washed over you. A new lightness came over you and unfurled itself in the colors you used, stronger and more vibrant than what you usually painted with, but it felt right.</p><p>The canvas was quite small and it took you no time to finish the landscape before you, putting your paints away but leaving the canvas out to dry in the gentle breeze. You turned back to Orlo as he continued to read aloud, blind to the world around him. You decided you very much liked the way his voice caressed the words and the passion with which he spoke made you smile without knowing. You laid back, hands behind your head, and listened as you watched the clouds go by.</p><p>You did not know how long you were out there, but his voice suddenly stopped flowing and you sat up, looking at him for the first time in a while. His brown eyes were gazing at you with an unreadable emotion and you raised a questioning brow, gesturing once again to the book, hoping he would continue to read. He cleared his throat and set the book aside, much to your disappointment.</p><p>“I am sorry. I thought that somehow this would help you to learn Russian, but it was a stupid idea.” He grumbled.</p><p>You looked on in confusion as you could see the passionate man shrink back into himself. He stood and ran a hand over his forehead, glancing anywhere but at you. Disappointed, you turned to your now dry canvas and packed it into your kit, closing the clasps and starting to rise. A hand shot out into you view and you took it without hesitation as Orlo helped you stand. You smiled your thanks and turn to lift your case when he beat you to it. You nodded your head and instead bent to pick up his book where it lay on the grass. Orlo motioned for you to take the lead and you made your way silently back to the palace.</p><p>Eyes shot looks at you from all angles and giggles and whispers were followed as you and Orlo made you way back to your apartments. For what it was worth, Orlo took it all in stride and you it hit you that all the abuse he suffered at the hands of the Emperor yesterday was the norm for him around the palace. A great sadness came over you as the thought that the only person in court who had shown you any real kindness was the one who seemed to never be the subject of kindness himself.</p><p>You opened the doors to the apartments and let Orlo in, motioning for him to set the case down on the table and smiled in thanks to him as he did so. He returned the smile and you saw a hint of the man who read those words to you with so much emotion.</p><p>“<em>(Y/N), is that you?”</em> Your uncle’s voice boomed out as he stepped into the receiving room. He slowed to a halt as his eyes narrowed in on the Count. Orlo shifted his weight in discomfort and he once again drew in on himself. “<em>Is everything well, my dear?”</em></p><p>Your uncle eyed Orlo suspiciously and the Count shrunk even more under the intense gaze.</p><p>“<em>All is well, uncle. Orlo was just kind enough to carry my supplies back here for me.”</em> Orlo’s eyes shot up as he heard you speak his name in your heavy accent. Your uncle sighed and rolled his eyes.</p><p>“<em>Did all I say to you this morning go in one ear out the other?”</em> He groaned in annoyance, you shrugged nonchalantly.</p><p>“<em>I didn’t want to be rude, you raised me better-”</em></p><p><em>“<strong>That</strong> you listened to.” </em>You ignored his snark. He turned to the Count who stood in silence, looking back and forth between you and your uncle as you spoke.</p><p>“Thank you for seeing to my niece’s safety,” he finally spoke to the dark-haired man.</p><p>“It was my pleasure,” Orlo’s eyes went wide. “I mean, n-not p-p, uh, pleasure. It was, uh my… uh, my h-hon… duty?” He gulped audibly and you hid your smile under the guise of pulling the painting from you case. “I-I-I, uh, I thought we may s-start our lessons in Russian… That the uh, Em-Emperor requ-uh ordered?”</p><p>You could see your uncle fighting a laugh and you shot him a warning glare. Worried he would tease the Count as he had done to so many others.</p><p>“Yes… though I do not know what good they may do. We are scheduled to leave for our family estate tomorrow.”</p><p>You would have sworn you could see disappointment flash across Orlo’s eyes, but a mask fell across his face and he nodded to your uncle.</p><p>“That is… probably for the best,” his eyes looked to the floor.</p><p>“Yes,” your uncle said slowly as he read deeper into the man’s tone. “But I thank you anyway, sir.”</p><p>“Yes,” it was low and barely audible. Orlo seemed to snap himself out of whatever he was thinking and cleared his throat. “Yes, well…”</p><p>He nodded in respect to your uncle.</p><p>“Good travels to you, sir,” he turned and looked at you, meeting your eyes for only a moment before looking to his shoes. “And you.”</p><p>With that he turned and scurried out of the room. Something caught your eye as the door closed behind him. You grabbed the item and rushed out after him.</p><p>“Orlo!” you called out and he stopped dead in his tracks, turning abruptly at the sound of his name. You stopped as you reached him and saw his eyes darken slightly as they looked into yours. You cleared your throat and dropped your gaze, looking down at the book you held out to him.</p><p>“Oh… thank you,” it came out as a whisper.</p><p>He reached for the item and his fingers brushed against the back your hand as he took it. You felt a jolt at his touch and his breath hitch slightly. Your eyes shot up to see his own darken once more as you both stood silently. You mentally shook yourself and dropped his gaze, curtsying quickly before rushing back to the relative safety of your apartments.</p><p>You closed the door without looking behind you, sighing deeply and confused at your own actions. A throat clearing startled you, making you jump and you turned a glare at your uncle who stood just beside the door.</p><p>“<em>Were you spying on me?”</em> you accused with narrowed eyes.</p><p><em>“I did not know there was anything to spy on.”</em> You wanted to reach over and smack the grin from his face.</p><p>
  <em>“There isn’t.”</em>
</p><p>A silver eyebrow rose to meet matching hair and you rolled your eyes.</p><p>
  <em>“Good, as long as I was not talking to myself this morning.”</em>
</p><p><em>“Well, you’re old, so who knows if you were or not.”</em> You feigned innocence and made your way to your room.</p><p>
  <em>“You’re not funny!”</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shortly after you returned to the apartments a guard came with a message from the Emperor, requesting your uncle’s presence. He kissed you on the head and left you to your own devices. You sighed and looked over the painting. It looked complete, but you just felt as if something was missing. You started at if for a moment and then tossed it back on the table in frustration, instead wondering over to the bookshelf and grabbed a copy of Therese Philosophe. You had already read the English translation and were determined to read the original French version that you held within your hands as it would help you further grasp the French language. You settled down in the window seat and opened the book to the first page. Your uncle did not believe in denying you any literature that could further your knowledge on the human condition and therefore saw the book as a tool for learning. It was, in all honesty, more of a philosophy book in the guise of an erotic fiction and held a wonderful, refreshing perspective on female sexuality and religion.</p><p>The sun had set, and you were near the very salacious end of the book. The protagonist, Therese, was just about to give herself over to the Count of whom she so desperately loved when the doors to the apartment were violently thrown open. You gasped and blushed, hiding the book under a cushion and looked to the guard who had interrupted your reading.</p><p>“The Emperor requests your presence,” his voice was deep and growling. You feigned ignorance, part of you hoping he would just leave you alone as you did not wish to see the Emperor until he waved you and your uncle off on the morrow. He growled his message again and you shrugged at him.</p><p>“Oh, for goodness sakes, she doesn’t know what you’re saying!” Vera’s voice cried out as she shoved past the guard and made her way into the room. She huffed and turned to the man, “she is not dressed to meet with the Emperor.”</p><p>“Regardless, he requests her presence directly.”</p><p>Vera sighed deeply as she looked over to you. You still wore the simple dress you had adorned earlier in the day, but now it had splotches of paint in various shades along the skirt.</p><p>“Really. I’m likely to be whipped for even letting you show your face in court looking like that, let alone being seen like that in the presence of the Emperor.” She turned to face the guard, pulled up to her full height and, though she was much shorter than he, the guard had the good sense to shrink at her gaze.</p><p>“Give me 10 minutes.”</p><p>The guard was hesitant but nodded in accent. Vera quickly grabbed your arm and drug you to your room, near ripping the stained dress from you before wrapping you in a deep green evening dress. Instead of completely redoing your hair, she quickly wrapped your braid up with a comb of silver and somehow made it look like she had spent hours working on it. As she closed the clasp of a silver necklace around your neck, you briefly looked at your reflection with wide eyes.</p><p>“<em>Are you a witch?</em>” you only half joked as you looked near enough to a completely different person than the one who had stepped into the room moments ago.</p><p>“You know I have no idea what you are saying,” she muttered with a sigh and straightened out a few wrinkles from the gown. “It will have to do.”</p><p>The smaller woman grabbed you by the arm once more and lead you out of your room to the guard.</p><p>“You. Need. To. Go. With. ‘im.” You had hoped you were passed the one-word sentences. She grabbed the guard’s arm and placed your hand in the crook of his elbow. She turned her icy eyes to the guard.</p><p>“You protect her with your life. You hear me?” she placed her hands on her hips, staring the man down once again. “If anything happens to her, I’ll be speaking with your mother.”</p><p>The man gulped and you held back a smile as he again shrank back from the small woman.</p><p>“Yes, Miss Vera.” He spoke with a slight waver and quickly escorted you from the room.</p><p><br/>The guard took no time at all leading you to the doors of the council chambers. He knocked and waited for a voice to reply before throwing the doors open and leading you into the room. You hesitated as you looked at all the faces that stared back at you. The Emperor sat at a table in the center of the room and was flanked by two men, both looked to be around the same age as he. You could see, even seated, one was quite tall and lean while the other man was shorter and had deep brown skin that seemed to glow with a golden light. To one side of the room several older men sat, among them one man who had an overly long, somewhat unkept beard and wore a large cross around his neck. Next to him was General Velementov, whose ruddy colored nose spoke volumes as to his sobriety. Across the room from the older men was a desk and a familiar spectacled face stared back at you. His eyes darkening at the sight of you before looking away to the man that stood in the center of them all. Your uncle’s eyes met yours and your heart started to race.</p><p>To anyone else, he would have looked the picture of stoic.</p><p>But you could always read him like a book. And in his eyes a shadow covered the usual twinkle. You picked up your skirts and dashed over to him, stopping to curtsy to the Emperor.</p><p>“<em>What is wrong?”</em> he sighed and held your hands tightly.</p><p>“You were sent for ages ago,” the Emperor interrupted as your uncle opened his mouth to speak. Your uncle translated and you bowed to the Emperor in apology. Perturbed at you perceived ignorance when it came to understanding the Russian language, Peter glared at you and motioned for your uncle to continue.</p><p>“<em>The Emperor has recently lost one of his generals,” </em>he began, and you focused solely on him, your heart racing. “<em>As you know, I once held that rank in his father’s army. The Emperor remembered how highly his father would speak of me and decided that I should take the place of the fallen general.”</em></p><p>You head was shaking as he spoke, denying the reality of the words that were coming from his mouth.</p><p>“<em>No,”</em> you said as you clutched at his hands. <em>“No, you have served your time honorably. His father knew this! He can’t ask for you to fight in this war!”</em></p><p><em>“He can, and he has.” </em>He dropped your hands and brought his calloused palms to your cheeks, rough thumbs brushing away the tears you did not realize were falling.</p><p><em>“No! He can’t! You-you’ve earned the right to live out the rest of your life as you see fit!”</em> You were in near hysterics. <em>“Uncle, please! Please don’t go!”</em></p><p><em>”Shh, shh, my dearest,</em>” he pulled you to his chest and cradled you, rubbing his hand up and down your back in effort to comfort you. <em>“He is the Emperor, his word is law. I <strong>must</strong> go.”</em></p><p>You buried your head in his should and fought back the sob that threatened to erupt from your chest.</p><p><em>“Please don’t leave me.”</em> You voice was small and the grip your uncle had on you tightened.</p><p><em>“Please dear, listen to me. The Emperor has made another decision.” </em>He shifted you away from his body and dropped his head, so he was staring you in the eyes. You could see the deep-set worry in his eyes as he took a deep breath.</p><p>“<em>The Emperor has decided that it would be… safer,” </em>he nearly spat the word out as if it left a vile taste in his mouth. “<em>If you remained here at the palace for the foreseeable future.”</em></p><p>All sense and emotion left you in that moment. You turned to gape at the Emperor who looked back at you, satisfied and ready to have praises reaped upon him at his genius decision.</p><p>
  <em>“You can’t leave me here… you can’t leave me with him!”</em>
</p><p>You turned to your uncle as a panic started in your chest and moved to encompass your entire body. In only a day in the Court of Peter your life had been completely and utterly turned on its head, all rights and power you held over your life had been stripped from you and you stood exposed and bloody as the wolves started to close in on you and your uncle.</p><p>In desperation you looked around the room, hoping for someone to indicated that it was all a joke. General Velementov looked away when your eyes fell on him, pity and regret written clear on his face. The man who sat next to him clutched at his cross and gave you a weak smile. The other men refused to meet your eyes at all. The two men beside the Emperor just looked on emotionless, sparing you no quarter and even looking like they would start laughing. You looked to the other side of the room where Orlo sat at his desk. His dark eyes were tinged red around the edges but, unlike the rest, he held your gaze firmly and you could see the sorrow he felt for you.</p><p>Your uncle brought your gaze back to him. You could see the fear in his eyes. Fear not for himself, but for you.</p><p>“<em>I am so sorry, my dearest girl,”</em> he brushed a loose strand of hair away from your face. “<em>I am so sorry. There is nothing I can do. I can no longer protect you.”</em></p><p>He pulled you close once more and held onto you tightly.</p><p>“Well, go on and tell her the good news!” The Emperor laughed. “Tell her that she will be able to stay in court! How nice am I to allow her to stay here instead of sending her off to that dull house in the middle of nowhere?”</p><p>“So nice,” The tall man agreed.</p><p>“A great honor,” the dark-skinned man nodded.</p><p>“It is very kind of you, Emperor” the man with the cross threw in. Velementov and the others made sounds of agreement, but Orlo remained silent, his gaze fixed on you.</p><p>“Word cannot express,” you uncle replied.</p><p>
  <em>“You must act happy, my dearest. You cannot let him know how scared you are to be alone here. He will use that weakness against you.”</em>
</p><p>You closed your eyes, took a deep breath and nodded to him. When you opened your eyes once more you forced a happy smile to your face and turned to the Emperor.</p><p>“See!” He looked around the room. “I am a great Emperor! Though, she will still have to suffer through lobcock’s fucking boring ass Russian lessons. Still, she looks ecstatic!”</p><p>You felt your smile wobble and fought so hard to keep it on your face that your cheeks started to hurt.</p><p>“Blood brilliant!” Peter exclaimed. “I think we shall have moose lip crostini to celebrate how fucking amazing I am!”</p><p>The Emperor nearly skipped from the room, followed by the two young men who had flanked him. Once he had left your near manic smile dropped from your face and you stood numbly staring at the chair Peter had vacated. The men began to file out of the room, shooting you pitying looks as they left. Velementov stopped behind you to speak to your uncle, but you did not move, there were too many thoughts and emotions running through your head.</p><p>You were afraid of what will happen to you without your uncle there to protect you.</p><p>You worried how you would make it through life at the palace without his guidance and words or wisdom.</p><p>But above all else, you were terrified that your uncle would leave and never return to you.</p><p>A throat cleared next to you, breaking you from your stupor. Turning slightly, your eyes landed on Orlo who stood there awkwardly shuffling from foot to foot. You took in his deep purple jacket without really seeing it, or him for that matter.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” he said simply and turned to look at your uncle, you twisted around to gaze at him as well, noticing Velementov had already left. “I am very sorry, Count (L/N).”</p><p>“Thank you, Count Orlo,” your uncle nodded to the man. Orlo hesitated a moment.</p><p>“Please let her know that I will come and collect her for the Russian lessons tomorrow afternoon,” he waffled slightly but continued, his eyes looking directly into your own. “And, if she needs anything, please let her know that she is welcome to come to me… for anything at all.”</p><p>“That is… very kind of you, Count Orlo,” you uncle wavered slightly, still suspicious of the shorter man.</p><p>Orlo glanced back at your uncle quickly before meeting your eyes once more. He bowed slightly to you, lingering just a moment more before he too left the room.</p><p>“<em>Let’s run.” </em>You finally broke your silence. You uncle sighed “<em>let us just run away! If we ride all day and night, we can make it to the port! Then we can set sail to England and-”</em></p><p><em>“My dear, please,”</em> hands rested on your shoulders as he fixed his steady gaze on you. “<em>We both know that would never work. Besides, I have a duty to Russia to-”</em></p><p><em>“FUCK RUSSIA!” </em>Your uncle did not even flinch at your outburst. “<em>Fuck Russia and fuck her Emperor! You own them nothing! You have paid your debt to them tenfold! You fought your war! It is done!”</em></p><p>Your uncle waited until you let everything out and began to sob violently before once again pulling you tightly to his chest, holding you to him as if you would disappear at any moment.</p><p>“<em>Oh, little one,”</em> he had not called you that for years and it made you sob harder. <em>“I do not wish to leave you, but there is nothing that can be done for it.”</em></p><p>He let you cry yourself out until all that remained were dried tears and the occasional hiccup. He stepped back from you and brought his hands to the side of your face, meeting you eye to eye.</p><p>“<em>Now you listen to me. No more tears. I raised you to be a strong, capable woman. You will survive this court; you are stronger and smarter than any of the men or women who wonder these halls. You know how to protect yourself. Just trust your instincts and you will make it through anything that this place throws at you.”</em></p><p><em>“I can’t do this without you,” </em>you whispered unable to say what you really meant for fear of it coming true. You were afraid that when he left, it would be for the last time. But your uncle knew the meaning behind your words, the fears that you dare not speak aloud.</p><p>
  <em>“You can. I know you can. I know you are so much stronger than you believe.” </em>
</p><hr/><p>You sat on the settee; your body nestled under your uncle’s arm as he held you close. Neither of you were able to sleep, unable to shut your minds off, the knowledge that he would be leaving in the morning overwhelming you both for different reasons.</p><p>Where he was terrified to leave you alone in court, you were terrified that these too brief moments would be the last you ever get to spend with the man who had been a father to you for so many years.</p><p>The sky outside turned from a deep blue to a dusty pink all too quickly as the sun began to rise. You felt tears start to well up in your eyes, but you held them back. Time seemed to move to quickly and before you knew it, Vera was bursting through the door with breakfast. She stopped and stared at the scene before her, stifling her own tears as she turned away and quickly motioned for the serfs following her to set the trays of food and drink on the dining table. She urged you and your uncle to take your seats.</p><p>“You both need to eat something… you will need your strength for the day,” she fussed over you both, pouring your tea and setting a plate of food in front of each of you. “Now, I want those plates clean before I come back, or I will be forced to feed you both myself.”</p><p>Her stubborn threats held no real malice and her voice wavered slightly with unshed tears, but her words made you and your uncle smile none the less. You both began to pick at your food, and she gave a satisfied nod before heading to your room to set out a dress for the day.</p><p>You sat in silence as you ate, no words needed spoken. You and your uncle had spent enough years together to know what the other was thinking without saying the thoughts out loud. You wanted to savor the last few moments you had with him and he did not want those moments to be filled with tears.</p><hr/><p>You sucked in a breath, fighting to keep the tears the were welling up in your eyes from spilling. You clutched at your uncle’s uniform tightly and he held you just as firmly, placing a kiss atop your head. You finally broke apart and he mounted a large black warhorse that Velementov had gifted him that morning.</p><p>
  <em>“Be well, my little one. I love you.”</em>
</p><p>You choked on a sob, refusing to let any weakness show in the final moments you had with him.</p><p>“<em>Don’t do anything stupid, old man.”</em></p><p>He chuckled heartily.</p><p>“<em>That’s my girl!”</em></p><p>The drums started up and the procession of soldiers began the march to the front lines.</p><p>You stood, watching your uncle leave until you could no longer see his figure on the horizon.</p><p>You stood, still as a statue while the others around you slowly wandered back to their daily routines.</p><p>You stood until you were the only one left, a sense of great emptiness filling your chest.</p><p>Dark hair appeared in front of you, blocking the horizon your uncle had long ago disappeared over from your sight. You blinked a few times before focusing on Orlo. He smiled gently at you and gestured to the blonde woman beside him.</p><p>“Empress Catherine, I would like to officially introduce you to Komtesse (L/N).”</p><p>Your eyes widened and you realized who the woman was. You quickly stumbled into a curtsy, tripping over you own feet and wobbling. Two unfaltering hands shot out to grab your shoulders and you followed them up to their owner. Catherine smiled brightly at you as she steadied you.</p><p>“It is a pleasure to meet you,” she squeezed your shoulders slightly before letting you go. “I am sorry it is in the middle of such terrible circumstances.”</p><p>“She does not understand Russian, Empress.” Orlo’s entire demeanor was different around the Empress, more confident than he was any other time he had spoken with you. Your uncle’s words echoed in the back of your mind.</p><p>‘<em>I have also heard whispers that he and the Empress are involved with each other.’</em></p><p>It was so obvious that they were lovers. She looked to him as he spoke and you could see it in their eyes as they gazed at each other, Orlo again showing a confidence that he had only held in her presence. A part of you twinged and you could not for the life of you figure out why but it succeeded in making you feel impossibly more miserable than you already did.</p><p>“How terrible it must be, to be surrounded by people who you cannot communicate to. It must feel quite lonely,” a sadness crept to the Empress’s eyes briefly, but her ever present effervescence quickly replace the sadness as she looked back to you. “I do hope Orlo’s lessons are helpful to you.”</p><p>She again looked to the man, her eyes shining.</p><p>“He is quite brilliant. I am sure he will have you speaking Russian in no time.”</p><p>Orlo nearly glowed at the compliment.</p><p>“Thank you, Empress.”</p><p>A gagging sound came from your left and you turned to see the Empress’s serf for the first time. The Empress glared a warning to her, and she put on an innocent face.</p><p>“That is my servant, Marial.”</p><p>“Komtesse (L/N),” Marial gave a quick and insincere curtsy. Catherine gave another warning glare and the woman made a show of hiding her smirk.</p><p><em>“Empress Catherine, Marial,”</em> you spoke their names in your heavy accent that everyone in the court seemed to love. “<em>It is very nice to meet you both.”</em></p><p>“Oh, but that is such a pretty language,” the Empress exclaimed. “I wish I knew what you were saying… as I suppose you wish you knew the same of us.”</p><p>You smiled tiredly at her, stifling a yawn from the lack of sleep.</p><p>“Oh, you must be tired. I doubt you had much sleep last night,” the Empress exclaimed. “Let us take you back to your quarters.”</p><p>She grabbed your arm and turned you back towards the palace. Orlo walked next to her and Marial trailed behind as the Empress escorted you back to your rooms, head held high as the ladies of the court that lined the hall whispered behind their fans.</p><p>“Pay them no mind… I don’t.”</p><p>Her confidence was mesmerizing, and you understood exactly what it was Orlo saw in her. She led you all the way to your apartments and through the double doors.</p><p>“Oh my!” Catherine dropped your arm as you entered the room. She walked over to one of the larger paintings that hung on the wall.</p><p>Vera’s eyes widened and she jumped up from the chair she had been sitting in waiting for your return.</p><p>“Empress,” Vera curtsied deeply. “May I get you anything?”</p><p>“Tea, please. What is your name?”</p><p>“Vera, Empress.” Catherine looked over Vera and nodded at the older woman. “It is nice to meet you.”</p><p>The Empress turned back to the painting.</p><p>“This is exquisite! I have never seen a place like it before in all my life,” it was a painting of the forest you used to play in as a child prior to your parent’s death. You had not been there in such a long time and you painted the picture from memory. You were sure it looked wilder and more untamed on the canvas than it actually was, but you were creating it from the memory of a child.</p><p>“Can you imagine a place such as that?” she turned and looked to both Orlo and Marial.</p><p>“I cannot, Empress,” Orlo smiled gently at you. You quickly dropped his gaze and turned back to the Catherine.</p><p>Vera interrupted with a curtsy, handing the Empress her tea. She took it from the servant with thanks and sipped it before meeting your eyes.</p><p>“Did you paint that?” she stopped and thought a moment before motioning to the painting and then motioning to you.</p><p>You nodded hesitantly and stepped up the painting to point out your initials hidden within the foliage at the bottom of the painting and then gesturing to yourself.</p><p>“How extraordinary!” she glanced around at the other paintings that adorned the walls, finding your initials hidden in each of them. She turned to you with wide eyes. “You are an artist!”</p><p>You fought a blush that tried to stain your cheeks, wanting to deny her observation.</p><p>Catherine set her tea down on one of the small tables and swept her hand around the room before smiling sweetly at you and applauding.</p><p>This time you were unable to fight the blush as you bowed in thanks to her praise. She raised an eyebrow at you and then grinned brightly.</p><p>“Orlo, you must teach her Russian! I have a feeling she and I will are going to be great friends… once we can understand each other.”</p><p>“I will, Empress,” you looked up to see Orlo gazing intently at you. You held his eye for a moment before quickly looking away, hoping the Empress did not read anything into the slightly prolonged gaze.</p><p>You realized in that moment that you needed to be extremely careful. You did not know any of the customs of the court and, though you wanted to get to know Orlo seeing the opportunity for a friend in his kind actions, you had to be careful that Catherine did not suspect you of trying to take her lover from her.</p><p>You wished so greatly that your uncle was there with you, helping you navigate the tricky unwritten rules of the court.</p><p>“Well,” Catherine walked over to you with a smile radiating with warmth. “We will leave you to your business. I hear you will be studying with Orlo later today. You should get some rest before then.”</p><p>She reached out and squeezed one of your shoulders before turning to leave, Marial and Orlo following, the later glancing back at you with a small smile before shutting the door to your apartments behind him.</p><p>You sighed deeply and flopped into one of the chairs. Vera copied your movements on the chair next to you and you both looked tiredly to each other.</p><p>“That was unexpected,” she said aloud.</p><p>“You’re telling me.”</p><p>She nodded in agreement before her eyes widened to a comically large scale and her jaw dropped open.</p><p>“WHAT?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Prior to his departure, your uncle had informed you that he had paid off Vera’s debt. At first she had believed that meant that he had purchased her for you, but when he explained that he had in fact paid off her debt and she was now free to do as she wished, the older woman had cried and hugged your uncle. He took it all in stride as he did with all things and just laughed as he hugged her back. He sat her down to finish breakfast with you both and let her know that if she wished, she could stay on and act as your attendant, preforming the same duties she did before but she would actually be paid a fair salary for her work. She had readily accepted, jumping up to hug you to her chest, promising she would watch after you as if you were her own.</p><p>When she left to take the leftover food to the servant’s quarters your uncle had sat down and discussed with you the possibility of letting Vera know that you were fluent in Russian. He believed in doing so that you would at least have an ally in the palace whom you could speak with and seek the council of in his absence. And Vera was likely to have intimate knowledge of how the court ran which she could use to help guide you safely through the prickly situation you found yourself in. He had left the decision up to you, trusting you to make the best decision for yourself.</p><p>It was not until that very moment that you sat beside the woman that you had decided you could not run this road alone.</p><p>“WHAT?” Vera’s head whipped around to you and she nearly fell from her chair in shock. “Did you just speak Russian?!”</p><p>“I did,” she threw her hands up in the air and cried out.</p><p>“Could you speak Russian all this time?” You nodded. “Well then why the fuck did you act like you couldn’t understand me? Things could have gone so much easier for us had you let me know! I could have helped you navigate the court dynamics! Do you know how frustrating it was for me when I could not advise you on how best to dance around the Emperor and his lackies! You would have known who to avoid and how to avoid them! For fuck’s sake!”</p><p>The older woman paced in front of you, hair falling from the ridiculous cowl as she rubbed her head through the muslin.</p><p>“So, you wouldn’t have told anyone I knew Russian? Not even the Emperor?” you asked, cutting off her rant.</p><p>“Of course not!” she grabbed your hand and sat next to you once more. “I hate that cunt! And do you have any idea how genius it was for you to pretend that you didn’t understand anything he or anyone else said?”</p><p>“Don’t tell Uncle that you think that,” you mumbled. “He’ll never let me live it down.”</p><p>You were both silent as Vera continued to clutch your hand, her thumb rubbing gentle circles.</p><p>“I’m sorry he was sent off to that stupid fucking war,” she finally said. You sniffled.</p><p>“Thank you,” she looked you over and sighed. Standing up, she pulled you to your feet. “Come on, young lady. You need to get some rest. You look like death’s mistress.”</p><p>You chose to ignore the remark she made about your appearance as she led you to your bedroom and helped you strip down to your shift. You slid under the covers and Vera smoothed the sheets, pulling them up to your chin.</p><p>“Get some sleep, love. We’ll speak more when you wake up.”</p><p>You drifted off to sleep with Vera’s fingers running gently through your hair.</p><hr/><p> </p><p>Vera woke you up a couple of hours later. She has readied a warm bath for you and you gratefully sunk into the water, washing away the dried tears that had escaped from your eyes whilst you slept.</p><p>The downside to her knowing you could understand her making itself abundantly clear early on as you had fought with the stubborn woman when it came to your attire.</p><p>You wanted to dress in a simple gray gown.</p><p>She had tossed that gray dress out of the open window in protest.</p><p>Your eyes had widened at her actions and she just shrugged, pulling a velvet cream dress from your wardrobe as if nothing had happened.</p><p>You fought with her on how you wanted to style your hair.</p><p>She wanted to create an extravagant updo, knowing better to even suggest you wear a powdered wig.</p><p>You had grabbed a pair of shears and threatened to cut your hair off then and there is she did not settle for the braid that usually adorned your head.</p><p>She gave into you when you snipped off a lock of hair, showing that you, like her, did not make idle threats.</p><p>Orlo had knocked on the door of the receiving room as Vera was helping you dress. She quickly answered the door letting the Count in and telling him to take a seat while you finished dressing. A few minutes later you exited your room. Orlo jumped up from where he sat on the window seat when he noticed you and stood quietly, just staring at you for an uncomfortably long moment.</p><p>Vera cleared her throat, raising an eyebrow at the man.</p><p>“Fuck,” he spoke to himself and tapped his fist against his forehead in admonishment. “Sorry. I uh – I, y-you-”</p><p>He swallowed and cleared his throat. You could see Vera hiding a smirk beside you. The Count opened his mouth to speak, thought better of what he was going to say and then shut it with a snap. You took pity on the man and walked over to him gesturing and hoping that he understood that you wanted him to take the lead and began his lessons.</p><p>“Right,” he seemed to get the picture. “Of course. I apologize. I can be such a thick fucking idiot sometimes.”</p><p>Again, a feeling of prying into his intimate thoughts made you take pause. He had been nothing but kind to you since your arrival and you hated that he spoke so poorly of himself. He shook himself and instead of saying anything he held his arm out to you. You took the offered appendage, hesitating only slightly.</p><p>“I uh, I thought we could start our lessons in the Library?” He led you through the door and out into the hall. You glanced at the man out of your peripheral, noticing how different he seemed when out of the Empress’s presence. He was once again near physically curled in on himself as if he were trying to hide who he was from the world.</p><p>You stumbled slightly as you tried to make the left turn that would take you towards the entrance of the palace where the dining hall and Peter’s council chambers resided. Orlo instead turned to the right, taking you to a completely different area in the palace and it hit you again, an awe at the immensity of the building that housed Russia’s elite. Orlo had apologized for the confusion and his hand came up to cover yours where it laid in the crook of his arm. It hovered over your own for a moment, the warmth radiating from how close his skin was to you. But instead of touching your extremity, he clenched a fist before dropping it back to his side.</p><p>He kept his jaw locked and remained silent until he finally stopped in front of a door that was off in what looked like a rarely walked hall. He opened the door and ushered you into the room, you gasped quietly as you took in the sight before you.</p><p>It was a small room, but selves upon shelves lined the walls, some jutting out to create narrow rows. Each shelve was filled to the brim with books and pamphlets. The musty smell of aged paper reached your nose and you closed your eyes, savoring the scent as it brought memories of your uncle’s library in the colonies to the forefront of you mind. His library was considerably larger than the one you were standing in, but it too was stacked with row upon row of shelves stocked near to bursting with literature. But the smell was always the same, no matter the size or location of the library and you found a strange comfort in that realization.</p><p>“It’s small,” Orlo’s voice broke you from your thoughts and you looked up to the man. “There is not much to it-”</p><p>You broke him off from the apology you felt was coming from the man and walked over to the nearest shelve, lovingly running your fingers over the spines of the books that sat upon it.</p><p>“This is my favorite place in all of Russia,” his voice was quiet and when you looked over to him you could see the love for the room shining from his dark eyes as he gazed around the room. You smiled softly at him and he finally met your eyes once more.</p><p>“Right,” he cleared his throat and stepped around you to the small table that was hidden in the furthest corner of the room. He motioned for you to take one of the two chairs and he took the other.</p><p>“I figure we can start with the alphabet,” he opened a book that sat on top of a stack of books and sat it in front of you. It was a child’s book that illustrated the Cyrillic alphabet and you realized that he had prepared ahead of time, choosing books he though would be helpful for you and stacking them on the table so they were in arms reach and he could focus completely on you and your lessons.</p><p>He began by running through the alphabet himself, clearly and carefully speaking each of the letters aloud. He then spoke the name of each one, having you repeat what he was saying while writing the letters down on a sheet of paper he had ready for you.</p><p>His technique for teaching your Russian was exactly same to the one your uncle had used to teach you, and you sped through the letters. You could not help the warming feeling that flooded you when Orlo looked at you with pride.</p><p>“You are already picking this up very quickly,” he praised. “At this rate, we will have you speaking and understanding Russian in no time at all!”</p><p>The warm feeling was instantaneously replaced with the feeling of plunging into an ice lake. Guilt started to wrap it traitorous tentacles around you heart with a vengeance. He looked so proud of you, and it took everything in you not to come clean that very moment.</p><p>Instead, he grabbed another children’s book and cracked it’s barely used cover open. It had illustrations of different objects and animals with the name of the object below it in Russian. He spoke the words aloud and you repeated the, writing them phonetically down in the margins of the book. You then decided, probably as a way to ease your guilt, to teach him what the word was in English.</p><p>His eyes widened as you spoke each word and wrote it in English below the Russian print. He looked absolutely delighted as an immense smile spread across his handsome face. He eagerly repeated each English word until his pronunciation was near impeccable. You both quickly began to speed through the stack of books he had pulled, him teaching you how to speak the words in Russian and you returning the favor in English.</p><p>You were both so entranced with the lessons that you lost track of time. It was not until the candle that he had lit beside you some time ago had burnt itself out that you both looked up to realize how dark it had become outside.</p><p>“Fuck!” Orlo lit another candle before gathering the stack of books and placed them quickly back a semi-neat pile on the table. “Fuck, we are going to be late for dinner!” He stood up abruptly and helped you to your feet.</p><p>“Fuck, I am such an idiot,” he admonished himself. “Why do you always do these things!”</p><p>Unable to take the hateful words he spoke in regard to his own person, you grabbed his hands and held them in your own. A jolt hit deep within your chest at the contact and you did your best to ignore the strange feeling and what it meant.</p><p>His eyes snapped up to yours and you squeezed his hands in gratitude.</p><p>“Thank you,” you spoke to him in Russian. His eyes widened in wonder, the phrase being one that you and he had gone over moments prior.</p><p>“<em>You welcome?”</em> His accent was thick, and he had dropped the linking verb.</p><p><em>“Are,” </em>You corrected. “<em>You <strong>are</strong> welcome.”</em></p><p>
  <em>“You are welcome.” </em>
</p><p>You squealed slightly in delight and the smile on his face grew so wide he was in danger of his face splitting open. Without thinking, you threw your arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. His body stiffened and became rigid at the contact. You quickly dropped the embrace and looked away in embarrassment.</p><p><em>“Sorry,”</em> you mumbled, looking anywhere except at him. “<em>I don’t know why I did that; it was an impulse that I should have ignored. I apologize for making you uncomfortable.”</em></p><p>He cleared his throat and you worried at your lip. An awkward silence fell over you both and the only sound in the library came from the rustling of clothing and the sound of breathing.</p><p>“I-uh… I should take you back to your room,” he finally spoke. You nodded without looking at him and you both exited the library.</p><p>The walk back to your quarters was spent in the same awkward silence that had followed you from the library. He did not offer his arm this time and you walked slightly more than a respectable distance away from him. It felt like an eternity before you had made it back to the door to your apartments. Without looking at the man, you curtsied quickly before opening the door bolting through it, not seeing if he had intended to assist open it for you or not.</p><p>You leaned up against the door and tried to calm you racing heard.</p><p>“<em>Stupid, stupid, stupid.”</em> You berated yourself.</p><p>“Where have you been!” Vera came rushing out of your room as she heard your voice. “Quickly, you are going to be late for dinner!”</p><p>She ushered you into your room where she had an evening dress already laid out for you to change into. You did not protest as she helped you dress, your mind replaying the event over and over while berating yourself internally for being such an idiot.</p><hr/><p> </p><p>It was a strange affair, entering the dining hall for the first time without the strength and wisdom of your uncle by your side. Eyes turned to watch you enter the room alone, your purple silk dress reflecting the orange glow of the candle lights. Giggles were heard from behind fans as you mentally tried to reason with yourself as to why turning and bolting from the room would be an awful idea.</p><p>You glanced quickly around the room, trying to find a singular friendly face in the crowd of predators whose eyes searched you for any sign of weakness. You caught site of a familiar coif of black hair, but you quickly looked away, doubting he had noticed you as he seemed to be engrossed in a conversation with the Empress. You sighed in relief when neither he nor the Empress noticed your presence.</p><p>But your relief did not last long.</p><p>“(Y/N)! My Dear!” All eyes turned and watched as Elizabeth strode over to you and you had to fight the urge to shrink away from the woman. She smiled brightly as she held your face in her hands.</p><p>“Oh dear,” her fingers traced the two small bruised that formed on your chin. She clucked her tongue, “Well, your beauty is still absolutely intoxicating, regardless.”</p><p>She looped he arm with yours and pulled you through the crowd as the quickly parted for her.</p><p>“You must sit next to me tonight,” she purposely spoke with a raised voice so that all in attendance could hear. “I will not have it any other way.”</p><p>The glares sent your way told you that in claiming you for the night as she did, she had also put a target on your back. Vera had explained to you that the goal for everyone in court was to be noticed by the members of the royal family. Becoming a beloved companion of any one of the family meant you would become a kept member of the court, lavished with riches and favors. Many of the men and women on the court would strive their whole life to receive just an ounce of attention from Peter or his aunt.</p><p>And you, an outsider, had won favor by simply existing.</p><p>It was a dangerous position to be in but, in order to survive, you had to play along.</p><p>You forced a smile to your face as Elizabeth all but dragged you to the seat beside her, glaring harshly at the woman who had already taken the seat. She scrambled to her feet to vacate the spot and Elizabeth joyfully pushed you into the chair before taking her own seat. The woman you had displaced glared so hard at you that you would not have been surprised had you burst into flames and burnt to nothing but ash. Everyone else on Elizabeth’s side of the table rushed to their seat and the woman was forced to stomp her way to the very end of the table.</p><p>You knew from Vera’s quick lesson while she was tugging your hair into a respectable and fashionable shape, that being sent to the end of the table was akin to being exiled. You had hoped you would be able to slip into the room unnoticed and take the seat at the end of the table for yourself…</p><p>But fate was a cruel bitch that day.</p><p>Elizabeth once again started to play with a loose strand of your hair. Running it through your fingers and commenting on how incredible soft it was. She even, at one point, brought her face to your head and ran her cheek over you locks, moaning as she did so.</p><p>You remained absolutely still as she did this, too terrified to move.</p><p>“You smell of lavender and honey!” She exclaimed in delight. She turned your head in order to better reach the rest of your hair and in doing so, you found your eyes drawn to the dark brown orbs of Count Orlo. He stood, motionless as the Empress left his side to take her seat at the head table. His face held an unreadable expression and you felt a blush make its way to your cheeks as you mind again replayed the events from the afternoon.</p><p>Suddenly the day’s events had become all too much to handle.</p><p>The lack of sleep.</p><p>The loss of your uncle’s presence at court.</p><p>The revelation to Vera.</p><p>The stupid hug you gave Orlo.</p><p>And now Elizabeth had not only made a spectacle of you in front of the court, but she currently had her nose buried deep in your hair.</p><p>You knew you could not break down now, it would have been the weakness the court was waiting to for you to show. They would have pounced on you in an instant and to tear you to shreds.</p><p>Instead, in an effort to protect you, your mind completely shut down. It suddenly felt as if your consciousness was no longer a part of your body. You watch as your body went through motions required regarding the situation you had found yourself in, but you felt nothing. You were just a silent observer to everything that was happening around you.</p><p>Elizabeth continued to speak to you, touching and caressing you in various places on you person while she requested you to speak to her in English. Your body complied and recited poems, much to her delight. She pulled you close to her when everyone stood for Peter’s entrance, wrapping one of her arms around your waist and continued to lavish you with not only praise, but with the finest wine and choicest morsels.</p><p>The Emperor also came over during the meal, demanding you once again speak his name in your heavily accented voice, then pulling you up to dance you around the room as others laughed to cover their jealousy and malice they aimed toward you.</p><p>You were unquantifiably grateful when the attentions of the Emperor and his aunt were caught by the Empress, allowing you to quietly slip away from the dining hall. You made it to the next hallway before your knees gave out and you collapsed into a heap, wordlessly staring at nothing as you continued to be an observer to your own actions.</p><p>You barely noticed when a pair of warm hands lifted you from the floor, leaning your weight into their own body and pulling your arm around their shoulder. Another set of hands grabbed your other arm and with little effort, the two nearly carried you down through the palace.</p><p>A part of you worried at your situation. You could not bring yourself to comprehend exactly who the two people who had complete control over you at the moment were. They could have been taking you anywhere, they could have nefarious plans waiting for you at the end of whatever journey they were taking you on. You were completely at their mercy and you knew your uncle would be horrified and distraught to see you in such a state, but you could not bring yourself back to your own body.</p><p>And a large part of you no longer cared.</p><p>Muffled voices spoke garbled words as you realized the two people had come to a halt. They were speaking to someone as you saw another figure, covered in shadow, approach you.</p><p>In a blink you felt the warmth of the two bodies on either side of you move away. You realized you had been laid down, muffled voices coming from above you. A shadow leaned over you and mumbled something to you as the two other shadows stood behind it.</p><p>You decided that if this was how you met your end, then so be it.</p><p>You felt your mouth move as you apologized to you uncle for your weakness.</p><p>And then the darkness completely overtook you.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first thing you became aware of was the debilitating pain in your head that worsened each time your heart beat. You groaned, trying to regulate you breathing in effort to slow your heart rate. You had nearly lowered the speed and intensity of your pulse when you felt a sharp sting at the crook of you left arm. You fought to crack your weary eyes open, blinking a few times against the light. When your eyes finally adjusted you were greeted with the face of a man you had never met before.</p><p>His wide, startled eyes met yours for a moment before you retched you arm out of his grasp and pushed yourself against the headboard. You reached under your pillow where you had hid a knife your uncle had gifted you. You raised it at the man, pushing yourself further into the headboard as a means to steady yourself.</p><p>“<em>Who the fuck are you?”</em> you growled and brandished the weapon at the strange man.</p><p>“Serf!” he cried out and raised his hands. “Serf!”</p><p>Vera came rushing into the room and stopped dead still as she took in the sight before her.</p><p>“I am not a serf.” Her hands came to her hips as she glared at the man.</p><p>“Right, apologies” his hands were still in the air “can you assist? She is in hysterics.”</p><p>“Oh, I wonder why,” Vera snarked. “Poor girl just woke up to a strange man hovering over like a right creep.”</p><p>“Can you just settle her down?” he glared at the woman of a small pair of spectacles that sat perched on his nose. “I was in the middle of a phlebotomy treatment”</p><p>You quickly glanced down, noticing the for the first time the pool of blood that had started to collect on your sheets. You looked to your arm, where you had felt the sharp sting earlier to see a slowly weeping wound.</p><p>“(Y/N), love” Vera stepped forward, pushing the man out of the way. “Please, do not stab the doctor, he is the only one we have.”</p><p>She held the front of her skirts up and stepped up into the bed. You lowered the knife and she grabbed it from your hand with a wide grin.</p><p>“Oh, Lord help the man who decides to share your bed,” she winked at you and slid the knife back to it’s hiding place “one wrong move and he’ll go from stallion to gelding with a flick of your wrist.”</p><p>She helped you to the edge of the bed, a dizzying wave overtook you and the pain in your head increased.</p><p>“We must finish the treatment, then make her a drink of cocaine and juniper berries.” The man began to take a step towards you and your hand shot back towards the hidden blade. He froze and held his hands up once again.</p><p>“I think that is her subtle way of telling you to ‘fuck off,’ Chekov” you could hear the laugh in Vera’s voice.</p><p>The man sniffed and strode quickly over to a case that sat on your vanity. He grumbled to himself as he packed up several glass vials and jars before shutting the case with a resounding snap.</p><p>“Well, if she gets worse and decides to take the advice of a well-respected physician” Vera rolled her eyes and mouthed the words as he spoke them. The man glared hard at her and stomped out of the room. Vera held a finger up as a sign for you to wait until a loud bang was heard, the man having exited the apartments with a slam of the doors.</p><p>You looked down at your arm and huffed, grabbing the skirt of the ruined white underclothes that you were wearing and pressing firmly to the still seeping wound on your arm.</p><p>“Archaic” you muttered as you tried to staunch the flow of blood.</p><p>Vera sat next to you and looked you over in concern.</p><p>“Are you alright, love?” she asked as she took over the task of applying pressure from you. Your free hand came up to your forehead and rubbed at the temples.</p><p>“I don’t know… what happened?”</p><p>“Do you remember anything of last night?” her brows were furrowed.</p><p>“I remember leaving here, arriving at the dining hall and being immediately scooped up by Elizabeth,” Vera groaned, “She fed me wines and spirits. She tried to force food onto me, but I don’t think I ate much of it. Then Peter” you blanched as the memory of the Emperor forcing you to speak and dance like some trained dog surfaced. You shivered “and that was all I remember.”</p><p>The cut on your arm had stopped bleeding and Vera dropped the skirt back to your lap before sighing and running her hands through your hair.</p><p>“From what I heard, he forced you to dance with him and then began to spin you around in circles until you nearly tripped over your own feet. That is when the Empress gained his and Elizabeth’s attention, believed to be a deliberate action on her part, and you very wisely made your escape,” she started to braid the hair out of your face. “You were found a short distance from the dining hall and brought back here.”</p><p>“Found?” your head jerked over to face her; your eyes wide. “What do you mean found? Who found me?”</p><p>Vera bit her lip, “General Velementov and Count Orlo,” you groaned and flung yourself back onto the bed, not caring that you were laying across blood stained sheets. Vera’s eyes followed your movement. “The wear practically carrying you when they arrived here. I had them take you directly to this room-”</p><p>“Please, no more,” you moaned in self-pity. “If I hear any more, I fear I may throw myself out the window and be reunited with the gown you tossed out yesterday.”</p><p>“You’re being dramatic” very tsked.</p><p>“I think I am allowed to be a little dramatic” argued back. “I have just gone and made a fool of myself in front of two of the more powerful people in Orlo’s court.”</p><p>“Peter’s” Vera corrected you with a smirk. “Peter’s court.”</p><p>“… that’s what I said,” you sat up and blinked owlishly at her.</p><p>“No, you said Or-”</p><p>“Never mind,” you waved away the conversation as her smirk grew. “I have made myself vulnerable in front of two very powerful people! Whose to say they will not use this against me in the future?” you rested your head on her shoulder.</p><p>“Well, then there is nothing else for it,” she rested her head on your own. “You will have to seduce them, invite them into your bed and stab them with that miniature sword you have hidden there.”</p><p>You snorted and felt Vera grin against your head.</p><p>“And then what? Become and enemy of the state? Disguise myself as a man and runaway from the palace? Catch a boat back to… actually, this might just work.” A loud bark of laughter burst from Vera’s lips and you couldn’t help but chuckle along.</p><p>“Well, now that that’s settled, let’s get you some food and then a nice warm bath.”</p><p>Vera helped you stand from the bed, steadying you as you stumbled slightly, and escorted you out of the room.</p><p>“For what it’s worth,” she led you to your seat at the table were a mass of different breakfast foods were set out. “I do not think Velementov or Orlo will use last night against you.” She piled a plate with eggs, fruit and a breakfast bread. “They both seemed rather distraught at your condition. I practically had to shove the Count out of the door.”</p><hr/><p>You sat in the window seat, having been fed, cleaned, and dressed, the memories of last night had started to fade. The book you had been reading sat on your lap, while your face was turned to the open window, the breeze ruffling your hair as you closed your eyes and soaked in the sun.</p><p>A throat cleared.</p><p>“Lady (Y/N),” your slowly opened your eyes as Vera spoke your name. Turning, your eyes fell upon the familiar dark-haired man that stood beside her. You felt your heart speed up “Count Orlo is here to see you.”</p><p>You nodded a greeting to the man, fighting to keep your face steady and not show the emotions that were toiling beneath the surface.</p><p>“I uh-” Orlo stuttered before taking a deep, calming breath. “I wanted to check and see how you are feeling today?”</p><p>He took a few uncertain steps towards you. You slid to the side and gestured to the spot beside you on in the window seat. He smiled nervously and took a seat. You smiled at him before dropping your head to your lap in embarrassment.</p><p>That’s when you noticed it.</p><p>The book you had been reading…</p><p>It was written in Russian.</p><p>Your hands shot to cover the title of the book, hiding it from Orlo’s sight. You glanced up and sighed in relief, his gaze was firmly on the floor and you were certain he had not seen the title of the book.</p><p>…</p><p>Almost.</p><p>You shot a look over to Vera who stood to the side, near your bedroom door. She looked at you confused before you glanced down at the book before looking back to her. Her eyes widened and she realized the point you were trying to make.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Orlo started and looked back up to you. You met his gaze and smiled brightly at him, hoping he would not take notice of the stupid little red book. “I-I should have h-helped you sooner.” He turned his back to you with a sigh of frustration.</p><p>You shot a look over to Vera who nodded to you. Making sure the Count was still turned away from you. You took the chance and threw the book to Vera, noticing too late that Vera was right within his line of sight now. You held your breath; certain you would be caught.</p><p>Orlo groaned and turned back towards you as the book flew over his head. Vera caught the book with wide eyes and quickly hid it behind her back.</p><p>“I’m such an idiot,” Orlo finally look back up to your face and you quickly molded your face into a mask of confusion. “I should have done something to help you, I’m such a dick.”</p><p>He placed his hand over his forehead, blocking your view of his eyes.</p><p>“I always balls these things up.” He brought his other hand to his head and held firm. Your mind drifted back to that first night he had escorted you back to your rooms, how he had held your small hands within his larger ones and attempted to warm them. A smile slowly started to creep its way across your face at the memory.</p><p>“I was just, so shook up after you-” he turned to you and your smile fell back to the quizzical expression before he could see it. “You hugged me.”</p><p>It was spoken in a near whisper. It was as if he were awed at the gesture, amazed that anyone would want to hug him.</p><p>“You hugged me,” he reached for your hand and you felt yourself drifting in the sea of deep, silky chocolate that matched the shades you saw in his eyes. “You hugged me.”</p><p>His eyes dropped to your hand that he held softly cradled in his own. He rubbed his thumb across the top of your fingers, and you felt what was almost an itch, a need for him to hold your hand tighter, to feel more of his skin against your own.</p><p>“You hugged me and I stood there like a fucking moron,” he dropped your hand and brought it to his head, smacking himself with the heel. “I’m such an idiot, I am not well versed with… this.”</p><p>He was again speaking his private thoughts aloud and your breathing sped up, knowing you should not be listing to what he was saying, that you should stop him from saying anything further.</p><p>You quickly grabbed the hand, stopping him from hitting himself in the head again. He remained deathly still as you pulled his hand down, brining it to his knee and holding it tight to keep him from his self-flagellation. You could hear his breathing as it started to speed up, but the rest of him remained staring at the floor. You patiently waited until you felt his hand tighten around your own as his eyes slowly met yours. The concern you had for him dropped and you felt a warm smile crossing you face. His face, screwed up in self-hatred, lightened and a smile slowly curved his cheeks upward, his eyes glistening with and unsaid emotion you couldn’t quite place. It gave you a glint of the man you had seen yesterday. The confident man that strode next to the Empress like he had always belonged there.</p><p>A lead weight dropped in your stomach as your remembered. He was the Empress’s lover.</p><p>You quickly pulled your hand from his and stood up, taking a quick step back from the man. How could you be so stupid? You could not afford to have such a powerful enemy as his lover was sure to be. You already had the Emperor and his aunt tearing at your heels, you didn’t want the whole match set!</p><p>“I’m-I’m so sorry!” Orlo quickly stood up at the same time you turned to face him. You nearly collided with him, but you both reached out to each other to steady yourselves. You gulped as you felt his warm breath blow across your face, a searing heat started where his hands had gripped your arms and spread up to your neck and cheeks. You were eye level with his chin and you couldn’t help yourself from tilting your head up. His already dark eyes seemed to darken further as they met yours. You could feel your breath start to speed up, a pressure in your chest formed and you knew, if you would just raise yourself slightly on your tip toes and press your lips to his that the pressure would explode into a glorious heat that would consume you both.</p><p>“Ahem,” Vera cleared her throat from her post by your door and you were immediately brought back to reality. You hastily stepped out of the Counts grasp, putting space between your bodies.</p><p>What were you thinking?</p><p>You weren’t thinking.</p><p>At least not with your head.</p><p>The precipice between you and the Count felt so much bigger than the two steps it would have taken him to meet you once more. You mentally begged for him to take those steps, willing him to show you that what you felt was felt by him as well.</p><p>“I… I should go,” the Count skidded around you like you diseased and dashed through the doors, not even bothering to close them completely in his rush to get away from you.</p><p>Vera quickly ran over and closed the doors firmly before turning towards you and leaning throwing her weight against the doors.</p><p>“Fuck!” You slapped your forehead and threw yourself into one of the highbacked chairs. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fucking fuck!”</p><p>“Agreed.”</p><hr/><p>You and Vera sat drinking spirits and discussing what had transpired between you and the Count.</p><p>“Whew!” a fairly tipsy Vera exclaimed. “That was so… woah!” She took another shot. “I mean, I felt it. I really felt that, in here” she gestured sloppily to her abdomen. You groaned and raised you glass, frowning when you noticed it was empty.</p><p>“I mean… what the fuck?” You grabbed the bottle whiskey and poured another glass, nearly overfilling it in the process. “What the fuck was that?”</p><p>“Hot.” Vera refilled her vodka. “That was hot.”</p><p>“But,” you groaned and took a drink. “But, he is off limits.”</p><p>“Says who?” Vera nearly yelled. “A man who is off limits does not look at a woman the way the Count was looking at you!”</p><p>“He is!” You threw back the rest of your whiskey. “He’s fucking the Empress!” Vera gasped.</p><p>“He is?” she refilled your glass. “Well fuck.”</p><p>“Indeed!” You sighed and slunk down in your chair. “You are an idiot (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N). You had to go and fall for the one person who you cannot have!”</p><p>“Love is a fucking cunt.” Vera growled as she leaned forward.</p><p>“I will simply have to keep a respectable distance from him and hope to whatever deity that is out there that the war ends soon so we can go home.” You felt tears welling up at the thought.</p><p>“Huzzah!” Vera tossed back her drink.</p><p>“Huzzah,” your voice did not match the intensity of the word, it was somber as you felt something within you crack.</p><p>You shook yourself from your misery and threw back the rest of your whiskey.</p><p>The sound of shattering glass faded into the night.</p>
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